I looked at the cradle next to my desk. Victoria was sleeping, her tiny hand curled into a fist.
“I built this company to reach the stars, little one,” I whispered. “I almost let a man of the earth pull me down into the mud. Never again.”
I signed a document on my desk—not a proxy, but a grant for a new engineering scholarship for women. I was no longer just a CEO; I was a guardian of a legacy that Marcus could never touch.
Chapter 6: The Horizon of Peace
A year has passed since the night I was pushed into the Pacific.
I am back in a helicopter. This time, I am the one with my hands on the controls. The AW139 banked over the same stretch of coastline, the water blue and inviting. I felt no fear. I felt no ghosts.
The Project Valkyrie suit was now standard equipment for every Vance Aerospace pilot. It was my shield, but it was also my message to the world: Underestimate the architect at your own peril.
I looked out at the sunset, the orange light reflecting off the cockpit glass. I was the pilot of my own life now, and the view from the top was finally clear.
Marcus thought the fall would break me. He didn’t realize that I am a woman of the air. I don’t break; I glide. I don’t die; I innovate.
I banked the helicopter toward the horizon, heading home to my daughter. The wings I built were strong, and the sky was finally mine.
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